Musical instrument



Feb. 12, .1935. `w. GEMEINHARDT 1,991,246

MUS ICAL INSTRUMENT Fild July 15, 1951 Y ma Y INVENTOR. `V N@ L 7E R QEME//VHHRD 7:

A TTORNE Y.

Patented Feb. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Walter Gemeinhardt, Rockaway Park, N. Y.

Application `luly 18 Claims.

This invention relates to musical instruments.

Particular reference is had to wind instruments, to which the invention is capable of application gene-rally. When a musician attempts to create upon an ordinary wind instrument, notes of a definite pitch, he may iind it impossible to maintain or otherwise to control the volume of his tone while, at the same time, producing a note or notes of the exact pitch desired. This, of course, is due to the requirements that the musician himself impress upon the instrument a note of a predetermined pitch; in doing this, he is required to maintain pitch, even if necessary to sacriiice sometimes, such maintenance the emission by the musician into `the instrument of large volumes of air. This principle is found to be true bothin the brass type of instrument and in instruments, such as( the saxophone, using reeds for the production of the initial note.

It is an object of the invention to provide means, in connection with instruments of the type indicated, in which the musician is free to exert any desired pressure at his mouth, in order to initiate the properly pitched note, and yet will be able to control the volume of his tone at will. For this purpose, there is interposed in the passage leading from the mouthpiece of the instrument, and before any of the controlling elemenis by which the final pitch of the note is produced, a throttle valve so arranged as to be capable of operation by the musician, while the instrument is in use, to control the amount of air passing into the instrument, and, therefore, the resultant volume ci tone issuing from the instrument. p

In order to prevent any defect in tone pitch from air leakage, the valve may be arranged to be manipulated by the actuation of a member adjacent the mouthpiece upon a stem extending out through a wall of the instrument, the stem being associated with means for sealing positively the opening through which it extends.

Other objects of this invention will be hereinafter set forth, er will be apparent from the description and the drawing, in which are illustrated a number oi embodiments of apparatus for carrying out the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to particular constructions and arrangements oi parts, particular applications of such constructions, speciiic methods of operation, or to various steps or details thereof, herein shown and described, as the same may be of pitch entails volume control;

15, 1931, Serial N0. 550,898

modiiied in various particulars or be applied` in many varied relations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the practical embcdiments herein illustrated and described merely being to show some of the var- 5 ous forms and modications in Which the invention might be practised.

On the drawing, in which the same reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout, and in which are disclosed the preferred embodiments, v

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an instrument with which has been associated means embodying the invention, the throttle valve being shown closed.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l'.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in perspective of a plate for the throttle valve.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in perspective oi a constructional detail of the modification oi Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of a portion of an instrument to which the invention has been applied in modified form.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6--6 or" Fig. 5, the throttle valve being shown open.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on a plane parallel to lines 7-7 of Fig. 4 showing a constructional detail of the valve.

Fig. 8 is an elevational View of a portion of an 30 instrument showing a modiiication of the valve.

The instrument of which the portion 10, shown in the drawing, is intended to be an illustration, may be any type of Wind instrument, either of the type using a reed mouthpiece, or of the type using the ordinary lip mouthpiece of the brass instrument. In either case, a mouthpiece 12 is assembled upon the tapering tubular end 14 of portion l0, this tubular end being the end of the convolutions necessary for the particular structure of the instrument with which the invention is to be associated.

In the bodyk 16 oi the instrument, there may be provided any number of checks, valves, orv like control elements 18 necessary for varying the pitch o the note emanating from the instrument, or other means for controlling the pitch of the note produced. It is well known that, in the operation of instruments of this character, it is necessary to produce at the mouthpiece a properly pitched note, not necessarily the one finally delivered from the instrument, but one having a dennite relation to such note. The final pitch is produced by the manipulation of the control elements 18, which, as

is well known, operate to change the eiTecti-ve length of the tube through which the wave tone produced must vibrate.

In producing sounds from instruments of this character, it has been found necessary to exert considerable wind pressure upon the instrument. The result has been that a note, when produced, would be of great volume, and would interfere with the production of wave forms of small amplitude, or otherwise regulating the volume of tone, when piano or pianissimo effects are to be produced, when such is necessary.

In order to alleviate this condition, there has been provided adjacent tubular end 14, a throttle valve 20, which may be operated by the musician during the use oi the instrument to regulate the amount of air passing into the instrument, this adjustment merelyr affecting the aniplitude of the wave but not changing its length and. therefore, not aiecting the pitch of the note impressed upon the instrument at that point.

Valve 20 preferably consists of a disk or plate 22, mounted at the end oi' a stem 24, at the other end of which is provided a finger piece 26. The plate is intended to be positioned transversely of the passage 28 in body 16, and is intended to be rotatable by manipulating the finger piece 26 so that it may assume any position, between that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, in which it opposes substantially no resistance for the passage of air into the instrument, and that shown in full lines in Fig. 2, in which it interposes considerable resistance to air passage and thus cuts down the amplitude of the sound wave passed. In the latter position, but a small cross-section of the passage `is left free for the passage of air.

Finger piece 26 may be assembled upon the end of the stem either by driving a pin through aligned openings in the stem and ringer piece, or by any other well known method. The nger piece 26 may be formed as a flat member, and When assembled, may be located so that its mean plane will correspond closely to that of the plate 22.

By this arrangement, the musician is enabled to regulate, at will, the volume of the tone produced by his instrument. The pitch of the note he produces will not be affected, in any way, by this valve, since the length of the chamber or varied thereby; merethe elements 18, the valve may function to regulate tone volume for any note produced by the instrument.

The plate may be made as shown in Fig. 3, in which case it would be provided with a threaded recess 30 for the reception of the threaded end 32 of stem 24. In order to associate the stem and the plate xedly, the latter may be held within passage 28 by extending it through the mouthpiece; while it is so held, the threaded recess 30. End 32 is then turned down hard into the recess, after which, by means oi' the gripping means or suitable pliers, the wall of the plate may be crushed down against the threaded end to lock it in the recess.

In order to seal opening 34, and thereby prevent interference with proper operation of the instrument by a possible defect in the pitch proof stem to seat duced, there is secured intermediately 24 a tapered plug 38 which is intended in a correspondingly tapered seat 40 in a boss 42. A leaf spring 44, having an opening 46 through which stem 24 extends, bears against plug 38 to force it into engagement with seat 40.

The spring is anchored at 48 on a block 50, soldered or otherwise secured to wall 36. Spring 44 and a recess 52 in the block are correspondingly tapered in order that the spring may be located properly with relation to the block. As seen in Fig. 7, the block also has a downwardly inclined bottom 54 in which are provided two threaded recesses 56 and 58 for association with a pair of openings in the leaf spring. A pair of screws 60 and 62 are received through these openings and engaged within the recesses so that, by 'turning the screws down against the leaf spring, the spring will be forced against plug 38. By varying the amount which the screws are threaded into the recesses, control of the tension of the spring, and, therefore, of the pressure of the plug on its seat, is obtained.

In the modied form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the body portion 64 and its tapered tubular end 66 are intended to be of substantially the same eiect as the body 16 and its tapering end 14; the tapering end 66 is intended to receive thereon mouthpieces of the same general characteristics as the mouthpiece l2. Controls similar to the controls 18 may likewise be provided beyond the mouthpiece for regulating the pitch of the tone to be produced.

Within the passage 68 of the body portion is located a plate 70 similar to the plate 22, to which is likewise secured a stem 72. This stem is intended to extend through an opening 74 in the wall of the passage and through a boss 76 formed on wall 80. At the outer end of the stem a finger piece 82 is provided, whereby plate 70 may be disposed in any desired relationship transversely of the passage 68.

In the boss 76 may be a tapering seat 84. A tapered plug 86, either made a part of stem 72 or, as a separate unit, secured thereto in any will, when the plate 70 is posi- The outside walls of the boss 76 may be threaded to receive a cap against which spring 88 may bear, when acting against plug 86.

Among the many features of this invention, it is to be noted that it makes possible that the musician, using the instrument, regulate the volume of his tone, at will, without, in any way, affecting the tone quality or pitch of the note he produces; it allows him to play softly, or pianissimo, in the lower registers, without straining, and without the danger of a break in his note, and thereby permits him to associate properly the volume of the note he is producing with orchestra, band, or other ensemble music; it makes it possible for him, without substituand colorings, without any such change; also, as is well known, while a musician, in making his tone louder, has previously been required to alter his grip on the mouthpiece, or, as it is hasta@ changes such as these; and, finally, it makes it simple to play staccato notes softly at any time.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular apparatus designed, in the methods of operation set forth, and in specic details thereof, without substantially `departing from the invention intended to be defined in the claims, the specific description herein being merely to illustrate operative embodiments whereby the spirit of the invention may be carried out.

Referring to Fig. 8, cap 90 is provided with markings 94 in cooperation with which the elongated pin 92 may act as an indicator to predetermine the position of the plate shown in Fig. 3.

What I claim as new and useful is:

1. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the instrument, means in the passage for varying the effective crosssection thereof, and means for maintaining the varying means in any one set position.

2. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into `the instrument, means in the passage for producing a variation of the amplitude of the sound wave produced by such blast without affecting the pitch of such wave, and means for maintaining variation-producing means set for any one predetermined sound wave amplitude.

3. In a wind musical instrument in which the. sound vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the instrument, means in the passage for controlling the amplitude of the sound wave produced by such blast without affecting the pitch of the sound initially impressed upon such blast, and means for maintaining the controlling means set for any one sound wave amplitude.

4. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the instrument, movable means in the passage for controlling the tone volume resulting from such blast, and means for restraining the movable means in any one set position. i

5. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the instrument, and a manually adjustable throttle valve in the passage.

6. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound Vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the instrument, and a manually adjustable throttle valve in the passage for controlling the effective cross-section thereof.

7. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the instrument, and a manually adjustable throttle valve in the passage for controlling the amplitude of the sound wave produced by such blast.

B. In a wind musical instrument in which the sound Vibrations normally are initiated by a blast from the musicians mouth, a passage for guiding such blast into the' instrument, and a manually adjustable throttle valve in the passage for controlling the tone volume resulting from such blast.

9; In a wind musical instrument, soundfrom` which is producedby blasting thereinto, means for cooperating with the blast for producing sounds of various pitches from the instrument,

means interposed between the point of entry of the blast and the pitch-regulating means and being constructed to be positioned in a plurality of fixed relationships for regulating the volume of sound produced, and means for retaining the volume-regulating means in any one of a plu-4 rality of fixed relations.

10. In a wind musical instrument, sound from which is produced by blasting thereinto, means for cooperating with rthe blast for producing sounds of various pitches from the instrument, a rotatable disk interposed between the point of entry of the blast and the pitch-regulating means and being constructed to be positioned in a plurality of fixed relationships forregulating the volume of sound produced, and means for retaining the disk in any one of a plurality of fixed relations.

1l. In a wind musical instrument, sound from which is produced by blasting thereinto, including a passage ofr fixed effectiveness to produce sound of a fixed tone quality, means for cooperating with the passage for varying the effective tone quality of the instrument, means interposed between the point of entry of the blast and the tone-quality-varying means and being constructed to be positioned in a plurality of fixed relationships for regulating the volume of sound produced, and means for retaining the volume-regulating means in any one of a plurality of fixed relations.

12. In a wind musical instrument, sound from` which is produced by blasting thereinto, including a passage of fixed effectiveness to produce sound of a fixed tone quality, means for cooperating with the passage for varying the effective tone quality of the instrument, a disk interposed between the point of entry of the blast and the tone-quality-varying means, and a shaft extend ing from said disk through awall of the passage, and means to retain the shaft in any one of a plurality of xed relationships.

13. In a wind musical instrument, sound from which is produced by blasting thereinto, including a passage of fixed effectiveness to produce sound of a fixed tone quality, means for cooperating with the passage for varying the effective tone quality of the instrument, a disk interposed between the point of entry of the blast and the tone-quality-varying means, a shaft extending from said disk through a wall of the passage, and means on the shaft for seal ing the opening into the passagev at the shaft.

14. In a wind musical instrument, sound from which is produced by blasting thereinto, including a passage of xed effectiveness to produced sound of a fixed tone quality, means for cooperating with the passage for varying the effective tone quality of the instrument, a disk interposed between the point of entry of the blast and the tone-quality-varying means, a shaft extending from said disk through a wall of the passage, and a spring-pressed plug on the shaft for sealing the opening into the passage at the shaft.

15. In combination with a musical wind instrument having passage-defining means as a part thereof, means for guiding an air blast cross-section ng constructed to nous operai;

me period, said ary the pitch of that relatio g ineffective to v ccd by `the air blas mbination with a strument having pass part thereof, means fo the passage for effect ties in the in n for a deiinite ti tones produ musical wind inagedef1ning means as a. r guiding an aix' blast into ertain tonal qualieans for adiustably from the air blast passage, said means set in any definitely age between a fully d position for continuous deiinite time ineffective to vary the y the air blast.

th a musical wind inssage-deining means as a foi` guiding an air blast into ctuating certain tonal qualistrument, and. m the quantity of aii` which may pass through the being constructed to remain fixed relationship to the pas! opened and a fully close operation in that rel said means beingr pitch of tones produced b 17. In combination Wi strument having pa part thereof, means the passage for effe ation for a efi'ectuating i certain tonal ument, and means for adthe eiective ties in the instrument, a disk suspended within the passage, and means externally of the passage for adjusting the position of the disk within the passage, said means being constructed to set the disk in any definitely fixed relationship to the passage between a fully opened and a fully closed position for continuous operation in that relation for a definite time period so that the disk will remain set in that relation.

18, l'n combination with a. musical Wind iiistrument having passage-dedning means as a part thereof, means for guiding an air blast into the passage for effectuating certain tonal qualities in the instrument, a disk suspended Within the passage, and means externally of the passage foi` adjusting the position of the disk within the passage and for friotionally retaining the disk in the set position, said means being constructed to set the disk in any definitely xed relationship to the passage between a fully opened and a fully closed position for continuous operation in that relation for a cienite time period so that the disk will 'remain set in that relation.

WALTER GEMEINHARDT. 

